Marque
Of French origin, meaning "brand" or "trademark".
Name Census estimates that about 1,123 living Americans carry the first name Marque. It appears on both sides of the gender split, with 88.1% of registrations being male. The average person named Marque today is around 35 years old, and the year with the single highest number of Marque births was 1988 (53 babies).
This page is the full Name Census profile for Marque. Below you will find a gender breakdown showing how the name splits between male and female registrations, a year-by-year popularity chart stretching back to 1880, decade-level totals, the top US states for this name, its meaning and etymology, and a set of frequently asked questions with data-backed answers.
People living today
1.1K
~ 1 in 305,213 Americans
Peak year
1988
53 babies that year
Average age
35
years old
2023 SSA rank
#13,449
Tracked since 1951
Census
Marque in the 2020 Census
The 2020 Census recorded 991 people with the first name Marque, which placed it at #12,527 in the published first-name tables. This is a snapshot of people who already had the name at the time of the Census.
The SSA sections elsewhere on this page answer a different question: how often parents gave the name to babies over time. The "people living today" figure on this page is different again: it is a current estimate built from SSA birth records and age-based survival rates, so the two numbers are not expected to match exactly.
2020 Census rank
#12,527
National first-name rank
People counted
991
991 in the published race/origin table
Per 100,000
0.3
People with this name in 2020
Largest reported group
Black or African American
65.3% of people with this name
Demographics
Ancestry and ethnicity for Marque
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marque is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself.
The bar chart below shows how people with the first name Marque described their own race and ethnicity on the 2020 Census form. The Census Bureau groups responses into six broad categories: White, Black or African American, Hispanic or Latino, Asian and Pacific Islander, American Indian and Alaska Native, and Two or More Races. When a category has too few respondents for a given name, the Bureau suppresses the figure to protect individual privacy, which is why some names show fewer than six slices.
Percentages are shown so the breakdown is easy to read across every published category. Because the 2020 Census first-name file also includes raw headcounts for each group, Name Census can show those alongside the percentages in the legend and hover tooltip.
Keep in mind that these are self-reported numbers. A first name does not determine a person's race or ethnicity, and the distribution you see here reflects the specific population who happened to carry the name Marque at the time of the 2020 Census, not any inherent property of the name itself.
- Black or African American65.3% · 647
- White20.7% · 205
- Hispanic or Latino6.7% · 66
- Two or more races5.5% · 55
- Asian and Pacific Islander0.9% · 9
- American Indian and Alaska Native0.9% · 9
Gender
Gender distribution for Marque
Marque leans heavily male at 88.1% of total registrations, but 140 girls have also been registered with the name over the years, giving it a small but present crossover presence.
Marque as a male name
- Ranked #13,449 in 2023
- 5 male births in 2023
- Peak: 1988 (44 births)
Marque as a female name
- Ranked #13,786 in 1999
- 6 female births in 1999
- Peak: 1991 (13 births)
2020 Census snapshot
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marque leans strongly male. 803 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 185 female bearers (18.7%).
Popularity
Marque: popularity over time
The SSA tracks Marque from the 1950s through to the 2020s, spanning 8 decades of birth certificate data. The biggest single decade for the name was the 1980s, with 332 total registrations. Usage has dropped considerably from its 1980s peak. The most recent decade brought in only a fraction of the registrations that the name once attracted.
Babies born per year
Decades
Marque by decade
The table below breaks the full SSA timeline into ten-year windows. Each row shows how many male and female babies were given the name Marque during that decade, along with a combined total. This is useful for spotting eras where the name surged or retreated.
Geography
Where Marques live
The SSA's state-level files cover 6 states and territories. California, Texas, North Carolina recorded the most babies named Marque, while Virginia, Georgia, Florida recorded the fewest. The average across all reporting states is about 14 registrations each.
Origin
Meaning and history of Marque
The name Marque finds its origins in the French language, dating back to the Middle Ages. It is derived from the Old French word "marque," which means "mark" or "sign." This word can be traced back to the Latin word "marca," which had a similar meaning.
During the medieval period, the name Marque was often associated with the nobility and the upper classes. It was not uncommon for noble families to adopt surnames or given names that reflected their status or possessions, such as Marque, which could signify a brand or a mark of distinction.
One of the earliest recorded references to the name Marque can be found in the 13th century French epic poem "La Chanson de Roland." In this literary work, a minor character named Marque is mentioned as a knight in the army of Charlemagne.
Throughout history, there have been several notable individuals who bore the name Marque. One of the earliest was Marque de Beaune (c. 1290-1355), a French nobleman and military commander who fought in the Hundred Years' War against the English.
Another notable bearer of the name was Marque de Villiers (1512-1589), a French explorer and navigator who is credited with leading one of the earliest European expeditions to the Pacific Ocean.
In the realm of arts and literature, Marque Chagall (1887-1985) was a renowned Russian-French artist, renowned for his vibrant and dreamlike paintings that blended elements of Cubism, Fauvism, and Symbolism.
Moving into the 20th century, Marque Blitzstein (1905-1964) was an American composer and lyricist who is best known for his works such as "The Cradle Will Rock" and "Regina," which explored social and political themes.
Finally, Marque Spitz (1950-2016) was a renowned American entrepreneur and business executive who co-founded the software company Kibu and served as its CEO for many years.
These are just a few examples of notable individuals who have borne the name Marque throughout history, showcasing its enduring legacy across various fields and cultures.
People
Marque + last name combinations
How many people share a full name with Marque as the first name? Click a combination below to see the estimate, or search any pairing.
Related
Other names starting with M
Other first names starting with M with a similar number of bearers.
FAQ
Marque: questions and answers
How many people in the U.S. are named Marque?
Name Census puts the figure at roughly 1,123 living Americans. We arrive at this by taking every SSA birth registration for Marque going back to 1880 and adjusting each cohort for expected survival using CDC actuarial life tables. The result is an age-weighted living-bearer count, not a raw birth total. That works out to about 1 in 305,213 US residents.
Is Marque a common name?
We classify Marque as "Rare". It ranks above 90.8% of all first names in the SSA dataset by living bearers. Across the full history of the data, 1,175 babies have been registered with this name.
When was Marque most popular?
The single biggest year for Marque was 1988, when 53 babies received the name. The fact that the average living Marque is about 35 years old gives you a rough sense of which era contributed the most bearers who are still alive today.
How common was Marque in the 2020 Census?
The published 2020 Census first-name tables recorded 991 people with the name Marque, or 0.33 per 100,000 residents. That placed it at #12,527 in the national Census ranking for first names.
Why is the Census count different from the living estimate?
Because they measure different things. The Census figure is a count of people who had the name Marque in 2020. The living estimate aims to answer a current question instead: how many people with the name are alive today, based on SSA birth records and age-based survival rates. Since one number is a 2020 snapshot and the other is a present-day estimate, they are not expected to be identical.
What does the Census say about the gender split for Marque?
In the 2020 Census sex table, Marque leans strongly male. 803 people counted with this name were male (81.3%), compared with 185 female bearers (18.7%). The Census view is a snapshot of people living with the name in 2020, while the SSA section above tracks births across time.
What does the Census say about the background of people named Marque?
In the 2020 Census race and Hispanic-origin table, the largest reported group for people named Marque is Black at 65.3%. The next largest groups are White (20.7%) and Hispanic (6.7%). These figures describe the people who had the name in 2020, not any inherent property of the name itself. The percentages in the chart above come from self-reported race and Hispanic-origin responses in the 2020 Census.
Which group reports the name Marque most often in the Census?
Black is the largest reported group for people named Marque in the 2020 Census, accounting for 65.3% (647 people in the published table).
Why can the Census sex total and race total differ slightly?
The Census Bureau published separate 2020 tables for sex and for race/Hispanic origin, and the released figures can differ slightly because of privacy protection in the public files. That is why this page treats the gender section and the race/origin section as two related snapshots instead of forcing them into one identical total.
Does every first name have Census demographic data?
No. The public Census first-name release only includes names that met the Bureau's publication rules, so many rarer names in the SSA files have no Census demographic snapshot. When that happens, the SSA trend, gender history, and state sections still appear, but the 2020 Census demographic sections are omitted.
What does the SSA popularity chart show?
The chart tracks births, not the number of people alive with the name today. Each point shows how many babies were given the name Marque in that year. That makes it useful for spotting when the name rose, peaked, or faded.
Is Marque a male name?
Yes, 88.1% of people registered as Marque in the SSA data are male. You can see the full per-sex comparison in the gender distribution section above, which includes the latest year rank, birth count, and peak year for each sex.
Is Marque still being used today?
Yes. The SSA still recorded Marque in 2024, and the page above shows its latest-year rank where available. A name can be well past its peak and still remain in steady use, especially if it built up a large population over earlier decades.
Why can a name have a lot of living bearers even if it is not trendy now?
Because living-bearer counts and current baby-name popularity measure different things. A name like Marque can build up a very large population over many decades, even if fewer parents are choosing it now than they did at its peak.
Where does this data come from?
First-name figures come from the Social Security Administration's national baby name files, which cover every name on a birth certificate from 1880 to 2024. Living-bearer estimates layer in CDC actuarial life tables broken out by sex to account for mortality. The population baseline (342,754,338) is the Census Bureau's latest national estimate. You can read the full calculation on our methodology page.
How many people are named Marque?
Want to know how many Americans are named Marque? HowManyOfMe.org, our sister site, puts the living-bearer count front and centre.